THE UNBOXING: 2024

One more bit of business before we wrap things up. Back when I had the time and motivation*, I used to do a regular monthly feature here where I went through the assorted trade paperbacks and hardcovers (and later, digital comics as well) that I acquired. Then I stopped, in large part because Marvel and DC drastically scaled back releasing things I was interested in, but also because I essentially ceased buying trades, preferring hardcovers whenever possible. However, I did start working The Unboxing into my annual "Happy New Year!" posts, going through notable items I had picked up over the prior year. But since next week's "Happy New Year!" will also double as my farewell, I don't really want to clog up the proceedings shilling a bunch of books. However, I did pick up some great things over the past year and would like to share them here for those interested. So, let's go for it right now, shall we?

(Note: The following will include, in addition to the afore-mentioned books I own, books I have pre-ordered for the coming months as well, given it's unlikely I'll be doing another of these posts next year!)

We'll start off, as always, with the most prolific publisher on my bookshelves, Marvel. From January through to today, I've grabbed the following volumes from the House of Ideas:

• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS Vol. 6: I'll keep buying these numbered AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS volumes for at least one more installment. This book collects Marv Wolfman's run on Marvel's flagship here from the late seventies, and so the next book should cover Denny O'Neil's run, and will hopefully line up with the SPIDER-MAN BY ROGER STERN OMNIBUS Marvel published many years ago.
• CAPTAIN AMERICA BY MARK GRUENWALD OMNIBUS Vol. 1
• CAPTAIN AMERICA BY MARK GRUENWALD OMNIBUS Vol. 2: After years of publishing Mark Gruenwald's long CAP run via the Epic Collection trade paperbacks, Marvel has finally seen fit to give this material the Omnibus treatment. Gruenwald is the definitive CAP for me, so I'm in for all the books in this series, which should be three in total (though I will admit that I would've preferred it be split into a set of four, as the first book, which I already have, is extremely thick, and I so I expect the second, coming this summer to be equally cumbersome.
• IRON FIST: DANNY RAND: THE EARLY YEARS OMNIBUS: I have no idea why it took Marvel so long to get this material into an Omnibus! They published it in an ESSENTIAL volume many years ago, and then in two MARVEL MASTERWORKS well over a decade ago at this point. After that came an Epic Collection in 2016 -- but finally, in 2024, we have received a proper oversized hardcover collecting this classic material by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, among others.
• NEW WARRIORS CLASSIC OMNIBUS Vol. 3: Not a lot to say about this one, other than that it's nice to see the series finally finished! Marvel published volume 1 some time back, then... nothing. Until they reprinted it in 2023, then published volume 2 this year, followed by the final installment in the coming year.
• SPIDER-MAN BY DAVID MICHELINIE AND MARK BAGLEY OMNIBUS Vol. 1
• SPIDER-MAN BY DAVID MICHELINIE AND MARK BAGLEY OMNIBUS Vol. 2: I love Spider-Man by Stan Lee and John Romita. I love Spider-Man by Roger Stern and his various collaborators, chiefly John Romita, Jr. But Spider-Man by David Michelinie and Mark Bagley -- this is my Spider-Man. This was the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN I read every month in middle school and early high school, my "Personal Golden Age". So when Marvel announced this two-volume series, there was no doubt I was going to pick them up. Volume 1 came out this year, and volume 2 is coming in 2025.
• WOLVERINE/GAMBIT: VICTIMS GALLERY EDITION: Last year I noted that I had picked up (or was planning to pick up) the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale Gallery Editions of SPIDER-MAN: BLUE and DAREDEVIL: YELLOW. I passed on HULK: GRAY and DAREDEVIL: YELLOW, because I'm not as big a fan of those two. But WOLVERINE/GAMBIT: VICTIMS, the duo's very first work at Marvel from the mid-90s, has been a favorite of mine since it was published when I was in high school, and I'll be very happy to own it in this gigantic format when it releases in 2025.
• X-MEN 2099 OMNIBUS: I read three series in Marvel's 2099 universe in the nineties -- SPIDER-MAN, DOOM, and X-MEN. Marvel published the first of those in Omnibus format a couple years ago, and now we have the third. My recollection is that X-MEN 2099 was my favorite of the three series, so this is one I'm quite happy to own and look forward to reading. (As for DOOM; that's getting an Omnibus release as well, in 2025! I just haven't decided if I want it. While I liked the early issues by John Francis Moore and Pat Broderick, eventually Moore left the series and Warren Ellis took over, and I strongly disliked his run -- so I'm not certain I want to bother with this one.)
• X-MEN: MUTANT MASSACRE PRELUDE OMNIBUS: This book, reprinting a bunch of UNCANNY X-MEN, NEW MUTANTS, and X-FACTOR issues, among varius mini-series, annuals, etc. from the mid eighties. is ginormous. Like, way, way, too big. But it fills an important hole in the X-Men Omnibus collection, so I had to get it. I may sprain a wrist whenever I finally read it, but at least I have it.
• X-MEN: ROAD TO ONSLAUGHT OMNIBUS Vol. 1: Years ago, I opined that the year between "Age of Apocalypse" and "Onslaught" was one of my favorite periods for the X-Men. I can't quite explain it; I just really enjoyed that period. I bought the three ROAD TO ONSLAUGHT trade paperbacks Marvel published around that time, but we've now reached a point where they're upgrading the material to an Omnibus, so yes, I'm buying it. It'll take two hardcovers to encompass the contents of those three trades (with a few things added that the trades skipped), and I'll be extremely pleased when I have them both on my X-shelf!
• X-MEN: THE HIDDEN YEARS OMNIBUS: I loved John Byrne's HIDDEN YEARS series. I know it has its detractors, but for my money, it was the best X-title coming out at the time. Certainly it was the one I looked forward to reading most every month, So, even though I owned this series in two trade paperbacks, I was more than happy to "double-dip" on the Omnibus this year.
• X-MEN: X-TINCTION AGENDA OMNIBUS: A long time ago, Marvel released an X-TINCTION AGENDA hardcover. It collected that event, and nothing else, and it fit neatly between the two X-MEN BY CHRIS CLAREMONT AND JIM LEE Omnibuses. But now, Marvel has expanded the contents of that book to include several odds and ends from that era, including some annuals and limited series, so naturally, in order to ensure my hardcover X-Collection is as complete as possible, I had to pick this up.

Then, from the Distinguished Competition, a smaller handful of books:

• DC/MARVEL: THE AMALGAM AGE OMNIBUS
• DC VS. MARVEL OMNIBUS: I don't think anyone imagined these two books would ever happen. When George Pérez was dying and Marvel and DC wanted to honor him by rereleasing JLA/AVENGERS, it took small armies of lawyers on both side to make it happen; and even then the result was a simple trade paperback with a microscopic print run. But something obviously changed, because here we are in the year 2024 (soon to be 2025), with nearly all of the Marvel/DC crossovers issued or about to be issued in Omnibus format!
• SPY VS. SPY OMNIBUS: I read MAD magazine sporadically as a child, and my favorite feature was always the Spy vs. Spy strip by Antonio Prohías (though I didn't know his name back then). So, on a lark when DC reissued this Omnibus recently, I picked it up.
• SUPERMAN: THE TRIANGLE ERA OMNIBUS Vol. 1: Having read the initial Post-CRISIS Superman material some years ago, I've had an interest in continuing with it. At one point, DC had released a hardcover called THE EXILE, which picked up immediately after John Byrne's run ended, but I passed on that volume (though it did get a reissue this year). But recently, DC released this ostenisble first book in a series collecting the so-called "Triangle" period of Superman (called such due to the fact that every issue of the Super-titles featured a little triangle on its cover telling readers where it fit into the year's reading order). At some point, I will read this and decide if I want to keep going with it.

And as always, I have a few titles from a couple of indepenent publishers, Clover Press and Fantagraphics, respectively:

• TERRY AND THE PIRATES MASTER COLLECTION Vol. 7
• TERRY AND THE PIRATES MASTER COLLECTION Vol. 8
• TERRY AND THE PIRATES MASTER COLLECTION Vol. 9
• TERRY AND THE PIRATES MASTER COLLECTION Vol. 10: I mentioned last year that I'd started grabbing these books reprinting Milton Caniff's magnum opus newspaper strip, TERRY AND THE PIRATES. Throughout the past year, I've acquired (or will be acquiring in coming months) four more volumes in the series. I believe after volume 10, which is due out in March, there will be only two more books to finish the series.
• CARL BARKS DISNEY LIBRARY Vol. 1: PIRATE GOLD
• CARL BARKS DISNEY LIBRARY Vol. 2: FROZEN GOLD
• CARL BARKS DISNEY LIBRARY Vol. 3: MYSTERY OF THE SWAMP: As always, I continue to pick up Fantagraphics' Carl Barks books, which have finally, thirteen years after the series started, moved backward to collect Barks' earliest Duck stories!

But that's not all! After all the above, I've saved possibly the best for last: from IDW, we have a doozy: the JOHN ROMITA'S AMAZING SPIDER-MAN DAILY STRIPS ARTISTS'S EDITION. I found about this volume under some sad circumstances; in 2023, the day John Romita Jr. announced his father had passed away, I was reading tributes to the senior Romita online and stumbled across the fact that this book was forthcoming, and I immediately pre-ordered it. I've mentioned more than once on this blog that John Romita is by far my absolute favorite of all the Silver Age Marvel artists. Above Kirby, above Ditko, above Buscema, in my pantheon, there sits Romita. (And Romita's inks made all his peers in the 60s Bullpen look a million times better, too!) I wanted to publish a post here when Romita died, but I had already praised him at length in my look back at the Spider-Man newspaper strip, among other posts here, and frankly, I was too dismayed by his death to prepare any sort of coherent post about it.

But the fact remains that I have long considered the Spider-Man newspaper strip to be the pinnacle of Romita's work with the character. It's breathtakingly beautiful, and to own so much of the "original art" in a massive tome liked this is something I had dreamed of but was never sure could actually happen. The fact that it did, and that I own it, is still a little hard to believe. This volume is one of the crown jewels of my comic collection.

And that's it; the final Unboxing is in the bag. Come back next week for my final Hail and Farewell post.

---

*That's "motivation", not "interest". I have always had interest in doing The Unboxing. I just never actually feel like doing it.

THE END...?

I think I've known this day was coming for a while now, but I had trouble admitting it to myself. However, I've reached a point where I havd no choice but to "rip off the Band-Aid" and just come out and say it -- "Not A Hoax!" is coming to end.

I suggested things were going this way in a comment on BATMAN #357 a couple weeks ago, and today I'm confirming it. But for those who are curious as to how and why, I figured I might as well throw a few more words out there onto the web before I call it a day (or a decade, as the case may be).

For many years, whenever time permitted, I have worked pretty far ahead of schedule on this blog. There was a period, shortly after the birth of my son, where that wasn't possible, and I was stringing together posts basically the night before they were to be published for a while. But eventually I corrected course (partly due to scaling back my output from two days a week to one; a schedule which had itself been reduced from a whopping three days a week when the blog first started), and got back to a point where I was way ahead of schedule again. All those posts on AVENGERS by Bob Harras and Steve Epting? Every single one was written before the first one even went up here. And the same held true for Gerry Conway's Batman. I had all the posts written somewhere around the fall of 2023 -- and as such, I decided, as I often did when I found myself with a large enough cushion, to take a brief break before moving on.

The problem is, the break never ended! I was going to get back in the saddle at the beginning of 2024 to start whatever my next project might be, but when January rolled around, I wasn't ready yet. But I figured it was no biggie; I was still a full year ahead of schedule, so I'd take a few more months off. Then before I knew it, it was spring and then summer, and I still wasn't ready to start! But again, I knew I still had half a year left, plenty of time. Yet I still just never did anything.

And so, as of last week, I exhausted my full cushion and have nothing to follow it. And while the above may sound like procrastination, I don't think that's the right word to describe it. I still want to do this. I have any number of series and runs that I would love to read and write about! I spent much of the past year thinking about what to do next, bouncing around between two or three ideas, and fully intending to commit to and start one of them. But the issue is less that I've been putting the work off and more that I just don't have, I dunno, the will to do it. I absolutely and unequivocally want to do one of those handul of ideas I was bandying about -- I just don't feel like doing it.

I think maybe I'm just burnt out on the whole process... the reading, the writing, and the work that goes into gathering and uploading screencaps. (And yes, I'm saying this with a straight face after mocking up that fake Spider-Man cover you see above. If nothing else, I do want to go out with a bang -- and doing that took far less time than it might have taken to read and prepare a full post about the same issue!)

But -- I did stick that question mark in my post title up top. Is this really the end? I don't know. Maybe it's just an extended hiatus. Maybe I'll find that motivation I've been missing, and want to get back into this in another six months or a year or whatever. Or maybe I retool my format and do something else with this blog. But if it is over, eleven-plus years, looking at many long runs and countless short ones, across multiple titles and publishers, seems like a pretty good body of work. I've never considered myself a particularly scholarly or professional reviewer, and I have always worn my heart on my sleeve with regards to the stuff I love (and for that matter, the stuff I hate), so there is absolutely bias of some sort in nearly every post you'll find here. But people seemed to like what I did, and I had a lot of fun doing it (until I finally ran out of steam).

All that said, I've got one post left. I have always begun each year with a "Happy New Year!" post that functioned as sort of a combination year in review and look forward, and I see no reason not to do the same this year, as a way to cap things off. So I'll be back in two weeks, on December 30th, to do just that. Let's save our tearful goodbyes until then, okay?!

DETECTIVE COMICS #526

Presenting: the 500th appearance of the Batman in the pages of DETECTIVE COMICS.

"ALL MY ENEMIES AGAINST ME!"
An ending -- and a beginning, presented by:
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Alfredo Alcala
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Penguin arrives at a meeting of Batman's enemies called by the Joker. Joker explains that Killer Croc is out to kill Batman, and wants to beat him to it. Catwoman, present but hiding, leaves to warn Batman. Talia, in attendance, voices her objection and the villains turn on her, but she escapes by using Captain Stingaree as a shield when Mister Freeze tries to blast her. Talia and Catwoman both soon show up at the Batcave to warn Batman, though the Caped Crusader needs to separate them from fighting each other first.

Meanwile, Dick Grayson is on his way home from the Circus when Waldo the Clown and Jason Todd catch up with him. Waldo tells Dick he has the license plate of Croc's right-hand man, Slick, so Dick has Waldo and Jason come back to Wayne Manor with him. Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon arrives at the theater where Joker's meeting was held, with his daughter, Barbara, tagging along. They're shocked to find Captain Stingaree frozen inside. Barbara finds a cigarette on the ground and leaves to change into Batgirl. Dick, Waldo, and Jason arrive at Wayne Manor, where Alfred tells Dick that Batman just left with Talia and Catwoman. Batgirl then appears and shows Dick the cigarette, which she believes belongs to the Pengin. Robin and Batgirl head out on their motorcycles, asking Commissioner Gordon to put out an APB on Slick's car.

Batman, Catwoman, and Talia arrive at an abandoned train station leased by the Riddler, and find him inside along with the Cavalier, the Mad Hatter, and the Scarcrow. The heroes defeat the four villains easily, though the Hatter vanishes. Meanwhile, Jason Todd finds the entrance to the Batcave and figures out that Bruce Wayne is Batman. Out in the city, a mocked-up Bat-Signal summons Batman, Catwoman, and Talia to Gotham Park, where Signalman, the Spook, Mister Freeze, and Black Spider are waiting for them. The trio makes quick work of the villains, and Batman finds a piece of a city map in Signalman's pouch.

The police have found Slick's car at the Gotham Zoo, where Robin and Batgirl arrive to join them. Gordon leads them into the reptile house, revealing that Croc has fed Joe and Trina Todd to the crocodiles. Robin leaps into the pen and swats the reptiles away, dragging the Todds' bodies away from them. Meanwhile, Joker visits Croc at the Gotham Men's Club and tells him that the other villains are trying to kill Batman before he can. In the Batcave, Jason finds an old Robin-esque costume and puts it on. Just then, Batman, Talia, and Catwoman return to analyze the map. Jason sneaks into the Batmobile's trunk while the Batcomputer informs Batman and friends what part of Gotham the map depicts. The trio heads out again.

BATMAN #359

"HUNT"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Dan Jurgens & Dick Giordano
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Batman invades the Gotham Tobbacconists' club and questions its head, Filbert Hughes III, regarding Killer Croc. Meanwhile, Croc has summoned all of Gotham's gang bosses to his hideout at the zoo, where he announces his intention to take control of the mobs. But the men are unimpressed, telling Croc that they still follow orders from the incarcerated Tony Falco. Batman drops off Hughes and his bodyguards with Commissioner Gordon, while Croc sneaks into Gotham Jail and murders Falco. Guards spot Croc and try to stop him, and the alarm is raised. Batman responds and battles Croc, but is again defeated by him.

The following night, at the Sloan Circus, Trina and Joe Todd spot Croc's associate, Slick, pocketing extorted protection money. When Slick leaves, the Todds follow -- but Slick realizes they are after him. Meanwhile, Batman meets with Commissioner Gordon, who fills him in on Croc's history. Elsewhere, Dick Grayson arrives at the circus, but is informed by Jason Todd and Waldo the Clown that Jason's parents left in pursuit of Slick. Panicked, Dick leaves. At that moment, the Todds follow Slick into the zoo and to the reptile house, where they find Croc and a roomful of mobsters waiting for them. Croc declares that he will show them what fate he has in store for Batman.

Continuity Notes: I still think Curt Swan accidentally looked at reference Rupert Thorne when drawing Filbert Hughes, because the resemblance is uncanny. And now Dan Jurgens is following Swan's model, so the Thorne Clone lives on!

DETECTIVE COMICS #525

"CONFRONTATION"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Dan Jurgens & Dick Giordano
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Batman emerges from the river where Killer Croc vanished, and informs Robin and Commissioner Gordon that there is no sign of the villain. But as Batman climbs out of the water, he is secretly observed from the shadows by Croc himself. Later, following a date with Vicki Vale, Bruce Wayne wanders Gotham's waterfront and suddenly realizes that he noticed Croc but didn't register it at the time. He changes back to Batman and hads for the river, then tracks Croc into the sewer. But Croc gets the drop on the Masked Manhunter, nearly drowning him and then vanishing again. Batman searches for Croc and is ambushed again, then Croc disappears once more. Then, when Croc attacks from hiding a third time, Batman forces them both toward a large storm drain, which gives way and allows Batman to escape into the river. Batman emerges from the water in a riverside park, and vows that next time they meet, he will take Croc down.

Continuity Notes: The issue opens with some footnotes, as we're first given a brief summary of DETECTIVE COMICS #524 and BATMAN #358 when Batman describes to Robin how Croc killed the Squid and how Batman tracked him to his home. A page later, Batman tells Robin and Gordon about Croc letting him escape from the Squid's mob, again in DETECTIVE 524.

Bruce meets Vicki for a date and when she observes that he seems distracted, he tells her that he's thinking about Selina Kyle's obsession with him. He tells Vicki that Selina "needed" him to much, and he doesn't want to be needed by anyone -- which is what he likes about his casual relationship with Vicki. This naturally leads Vicki to bawl him out and then storm off.

BATMAN #358

"DON'T MESS WITH KILLER CROC!"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Curt Swan & Rodin Rodriguez
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Killer Croc busts into the Gotham Tobbaconists' Club and demands to be recognized as the new gang leader of Gotham City. Meanwhile, Batman and Commissioner Gordon observe the Squid's autopsy and Batman traces the bullet used in the mobster's assassination to a unique experimental rifle, only two of which still exist, both in Gotham. Batman visits an underworld gunsmith named Specs, who uses one of the rifles in an attempt to kill the Caped Crusader -- but Batman evades him and captures Specs, taking him to the Batcave. There, Batman and Robin interrogate Specs and get the name of the other rifle's owner: Croc.

Later, the men of the Tobbacconists' Club order Croc to steal an experimental Air Force computer from S.T.A.R. Labs in order to test his skill. Meanwhile, Batman scours the city in search of Croc. At S.T.A.R., Croc infiltrates the facility, takes out several scientists and Air Force soldiers, and absconds with the computer. Elsewhere, Batman beats up a street gang and learns that Croc lives in a section of Gotham called Hell's Point.

Croc delivers the computer to the Tobbacconists, who give their blessing for him to operate in Gotham on a "provisional basis." Later, Croc returns home to find Batman lurking in his apartment. Infuriated that Batman would invade his home, Croc blows the place up and makes his escape into a nearby river.

DETECTIVE COMICS #524

"DEATHGRIP"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Dick Giordano
Letters: Todd Klein | Colors: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Batman is dumped in the Squid's squid tank, but manages to escape by kicking the squid and sending it into a frenzy that distracts the Squid and his assembled mobsters. Upon realizing Batman has escaped, Squid sends his men to find the Caped Crusader. But one man refuses -- Killer Croc, who leaves instead, but not before the Squid sees his face and threatens him. Outside, Croc notices the wounded Batman lurking by a chimney up above, but walks away rather than raise the alarm.

Later that night, the Squid gives a speech to his assembled men, while Croc walks up to a nearyby rooftop and assembles a sniper rifle. As the Squid talks, Croc aims and fires. The bullet pierces the squid tank and wings the Squid, then Batman bursts into the room. The Squid challenges the Dark Knight one-on-one and beats him, then draws a revolver and kills him. Then, suddenly, the Squid realizes his fight with Batman was a hallucination, and that he is actually lying on the floor, dying from Croc's bullet. Croc packs up his rifle and departs. The next morning, Batman and Commissioner Gordon watch as the Squid's corpse is taken away, and Batman presents Gordon with the bullet that killed the criminal, telling the commissioner that when they find the high-powered rifle that fired it, they will find the Squid's killer.

BATMAN #357

"SQUID"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Alfredo Alcala
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Batman takes down a gang of drug dealers and asks them who is taking over Gotham's mobs. The leader of the delears says that it's the Squid. Later, a mobster named Joey Taylor is cornered by a motorcycle gang looking to take over the mobs as well, but the Squid and his henchmen appear and save Taylor, sending the bikers into retreat. Meanwhile, Batman and Commissioner Gordon discuss the Squid's incursion.

At the Squid's aquarium hideout, he demonstrates to Gotham's assembled mob brass the price for failure to serve him by executing a gangster named Eddie Colson in a squid tank. Late that night, Batman meets with reporter Olivia Ortega to hatch a plan to save Gotham's former top gangster, Tony Falco, from assassination at the Squid's hands. The next day, Ortega interviews Falco, who is subsequently sentenced to eighteen years in prison. But as soon as Falco is placed in a paddy wagon, the Squid breaks him out and takes him via speedboat to his hideout. But there, the Squid reveals he has deduced "Falco" is actually Batman in disguise. Squid's men gang up on Batman and knock him out, and when the Caped Crusader comes around, he is thrown into the squid tank.

Continuity Notes: Commissioner Gordon undergoes a physical exam at City Hall following his first thirty days back on the police force. The doctor orders Gordon to quit smoking and puts him on a diet, reminding him that he's not a young man anymore -- indeed, she lets us know that the commissioner is sixty years old.

DETECTIVE COMICS #523

"INFERNO"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Tony Dezuniga
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: In Gotham City, a fist punches its way out of a manhole. Three days later, Batman joins the police to investigate a department store robbery where the place has been utterly demolished. Batman leaves with a severed mannequin head, swinging past an asphalt plant. Inside, the men who committed the robbery watch Batman go. With them is the hulking Solomon Grundy, who has broken a mannequin he took from the store and wants "more toys."

In the Batcave, Batman has found mold on the mannequin head which he believes to be Grundy's genetic material. Then the Batcomputer alerts him to a robbery in progress at a toy store, and Batman heads into Gotham to find Solomon Grundy playing with dolls, and the men he was with lying dead at his hands. Grundy slaps Batman aside and leaves, but Batman follows the brute to a rug factory. Batman lures Grundy into an oven, where the creature burns to ash.

Continuity Notes: Batman indicates he learned of Solmon Grundy from Superman, who battled the creature in SUPERMAN #319.

The gangsters with Grundy are led by one "Doc" Heller, who, before his demise, chats with a mystery man in a trenchcoat named "Croc". Croc had interest in joining Heller's gang until Heller linked up with Grundy. Here, Croc tells Heller he's changed his mind, and leaves the gang.

BATMAN #356

"THE DOUBLE LIFE OF HUGO STRANGE"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Dick Giordano
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Inside Wayne Manor, Hugo Strange dons the costume of Batman as Alfred and Dick Grayson look on. Later, Bruce Wayne leaves a date with Vicki Vale and nearly passes out driving home. He regains his senses to find himself parked in front of Wayne Manor. Bruce goes inside, where Alfred greets him with tea -- but Bruce refuses to drink the tea when he realizes it's drugged. Alfred then tries to stab Bruce, and Bruce knocks him out. Then suddenly, Alfred appears behind Bruce to offer him tea, and when Bruce turns, he realizes the Alfred he just fought is gone.

Later, Vicki arrives at Wayne Manor, where she is greeted by Alfred and Dick, who are concerned that Bruce never came home after leaving their date. Dick changes to Robin and heads out to track Bruce's comlink. Meanwhile, Bruce takes a shower and is attacked in his bathroom by Robin. In the ensuing struggle, Robin is killed and Bruce stumbles out of the bathroom in shock, where he finds Dick in the hallway. Inside the bathroom, a hidden panel swivels around, concealing the "dead" Robin, which is disposed of in the Batcave by Alfred at Strange's order. Upstairs, Duck attacks Bruce, and Bruce throws him down the stairs, where his head deatches, revealing him to be a robot. Bruce descends to the Batcave, where Strange, in his Batman costume, is waiting. He hands Bruce a Batman costume and as soon as Batman is dressed, the two begin to fight.

As they struggle, Robin appears, confused at the sight of two Batmen.. Strange, believing him to be one of his robots, orders Robin to kill Batman -- so Robin punches Strange and then Batman unmasks him. Furious, Strange activates his ersatz Wayne Manor's self-destruct system, and the house explodes. Later, back at the real Wayne Manor, Batman and Robin save Alfred from being killed by a Bruce Wayne robot, then settle in for some tea.

DETECTIVE COMICS #522

"SNOW BLIND"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Irv Novick & Pablo Marcos
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: In the Himalayas, Batman and his guide, Chi, are nearly buried by an avalanche. Batman spots a large figure escaping into the night, then he and Chi find a shelter and settle in for the night. As they rest, Batman recalls the circumstances that brought him to the icy mountains: in the Gotham Picture News, he spied a photo of Klaus Kristin, the Abomninable Snowman, traveling with a group of Tibetan pilgrims. Batman took the Batplane to Tibet, where he linked up with Chi and began his search for Kristin.

Morning comes and Batman and Chi continue their trek. Eventually they find Kristin at the Lake of Buddha. Batman attempts to apprehend Kristin, but he and his quarry fall into the lake and Batman is knocked out. Kristin saves him but is shot by a Tibetan guard in the process. He falls into the water and swims away. Batman and Chi follow him again, to Mount Kalais, where the Abominable Snowman attacks on a mountain path. The Snowman defeats Batman, then lumbers away. But Batman survives and again takes up his pursuit.

The Caped Crusader finds Kristin in a small Buddhist shrine, where the Abomnibale Snowman also shows himself and attacks again. Batman blinds this Snowman as he realizes that he must actually be Kristin's father, the true Yeti. Kristin, dying from his gunshot wound, begs Batman to let him stay. The Yeti picks up his dying son and walks away, leaving Batman to watch their departure.

BATMAN #355

"NEVER SCRATCH A CAT"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Alfredo Alcala
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: In her apartment, Selina Kyle rants about Vicki Vale dating Bruce Wayne. Later that night, as Bruce and Vicki cruise along beside a waterway, Cartwoman drives up in her "Cat-illac" and runs them off the road. Suddenly realizing what she's done, Catwoman dives into the river after them. Meanwhile, Bruce extricates Vicki from his car and they swim to the surface. Two Good Samaritans take Vicki to the hospital, while Bruce watches Catwoman drive off.

After staying by Vicki's bedside for two days until she awakens, Bruce heads for the Batcave and changes to Batman. He bids goodbye to Alfred and Dick, then heads for Selina's apartment. There he finds her pet panther, Diablo, alone and unfed since the night of the accident. Batman knocks out Diablo, then searches Catwoman's records and finds a receipt for rental of a warehouse facility. Batman heads there and finds Catwoman, who attacks him. As they fight, she raves about how much she hates him for ruining her life, but ultimately stays her hand before killing him. Batman apologizes for breaking her heart by dating Vicki, and the two make amends.

Continuity Notes: There are a handful of footnotes in this one: early on, we're told to see the previous issue of DETECTIVE COMICS for Bruce and Vicki enjoying breakfast as they talked about Selina's harassment of Vicki. Later, we're told that Rupert Thorne killed Commissioner Pauling in BATMAN #354. That issue is referenced again when Alfred reminds Bruce about his recent gunshot wounds. Further, another note points to the past two issues for occasions where Robin masqueraded as Batman to help him out.

DETECTIVE COMICS #521

"CAT TALE"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Irv Novick & Sal Trapani
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Vicki Vale leaves the Gotham Picture News office and is attacked and mauled by Catwoman -- but then Selina Kyle awakens, realizing this is the latest iteration of a recurring dream. Selina calls Wayne Manor and asks to speak with Bruce Wayne, but Alfred tells her Bruce is asleep. Believing Alfred is lying and Bruce is actually with Vicki, Selina angrily hangs up. But in truth, Bruce is out as the Batman, rescuing a young woman from a gang called the Lords, who kidnapped the girl and requested Batman's presence as revenge for the Darknight Detective encroaching on their territory a while back.

Meanwhile, Catwoman sneaks into Vicki's apartment while she sleeps. When Vicki awakens, Catwoman tells her to stay away from Bruce, then leaves. The next morning, Vicki and Bruce meet for breakfast, and Vicki tells Bruce about Catwoman's visit. She believes it to be a cry for help, but Bruce tells her that he loves Vicki, and Selina can take care of herself. But Catwoman watches from a nearby rooftop and vows to fight Vicki over Bruce's love.

Continuity Notes: So here's a weird one: the opening pages depicting Catwoman's dream feature an omniscient narrator telling us that Vicki's mom used to warn her about Gotham City, and mentioning that Vicki was recently promoted to editor-in-chief of the Picture News. But since it's Catwoman's dream, is this true?! It feels like a sloppy way to script the scene.

BATMAN #354

"SHOWDOWN"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Alfredo Alcala
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: At Gotham City Hall, Mayor Hill confronts Commissioner Pauling over the latter's having revoked Batman's status as a special deputy. Batman bursts in on the two, intimidating them with the possibility that Deadshot could testify against them. But after the Masked Manhunter leaves, Pauling trips an alarm to alert the Gotham Police, standing guard outside City Hall. Officer McClosky opens fire and hits Batman, sending him falling into an alleyway. But when the police, Pauling, and Hill move into the alley, they find Batman gone.

Meanwhile, Rupert Thorne meets with Doctor Thirteen at Hugo Strange's one-time clinic, Greytowers. Thirteen reveals that the Strange apparition Thorne has been seeing is a hologram, and asks Thorne if anyone would want to drive him mad and have him committed again. Thorne immediately thinks of Pauling and Hill, believing they want to get him out of the way now that he's helped them into office.

At the Batcave, Alfred is feeding Deadshot when the injured Batman gets home. Later, Thorne is at his townhouse when Batman appears. Batman says nothing, but a frazzled Thorne begins babbling about Pauling, Hill, Arthur Reeves, and Deadshot. Then embers from Thorne's fire ignite brandy he spilled when Batman arrived, and the townhouse goes up in flames. Thorne runs away, eluding Batman. Later, at City Hall, Thorne bursts in on Pauling, Hill, and McClosky, brandishing a gun. Thorne shoots Pauling as McClosky shoots Thorne at hte same time. Pauling is killed and Thorne injured. Batman appears and knocks out McClosky, and Hill proclaims his innocence, promising to reinstate Batman as a special deputy.

Outside, "Batman" unmasks as Robin, speaking with Alfred and the real Batman, recuperating from his injuries, over a communicator. Batman thanks his partner for a job well done.

DETECTIVE COMICS #520

"THE HAUNTING OF 'BOSS' THORNE"
Script Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Alfredo Alcala
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: On a stormy night, Rupert Thorne answers his townhouse door to find the corpse of Professor Hugo Strange, wearing a Batman costume, standing on his porch, threatening that he will kill Thorne. The apparition vanishes and Thorne quickly makes a phone call to Doctor Thirteen for help. Meanwhile, Batman meets with Jim Gordon, Jason Bard, and Vicki Vale. The detectives ask Vicki to show Batman her photo of Rupert Thorne from the night he confronted her late boss, Morton Monroe, shortly before Monroe killed himself.

The next day, Doctor Thirteen visits Thorne, who explains that Hugo Strange is haunting him. Meanwhile, Batman visits Gotham Prison to speak with Deadshot about the photos he was given that allegedly proved Batman was actually Bruce Wayne. But Deadshot instead tells Batman that the prison's warden is in cahoots with Commissioner Peter Pauling, and arranged for Deadshot's escape to go after Wayne, and that the warden is now under orders to kill both Deadshot and Batman. Batman and Deadshot team up to take out the guards and leave the prison. As the unlikely duo drives away in the Batmobile, Deadshot reveals that the Wayne photos were given to him by Pauling and Thorne. Batman knocks Deadshot out and drives him to the Batcave.

Elsewhere, Doctor Thirteen visits Greytowers, the clinic once run by Hugo Strange. He explores until he finds Strange's secret lab, where the ghost of the deceased professor appears to menace him. Back at Wayne Manor, Alfred is cleaning the Batcave when Batman arrives with Deadshot. Alfred directs Batman to the television, where Commissioner Pauling says that due to the prison break, Batman is now Public Enemy Number 1 -- which leads Batman to break out in a fit of laughter.

BATMAN #353

"LAST LAUGH"
Writer Gerry Conway | Guest Artist: Jose Garcia Lopez | Inker: Dan Adkins
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Following a target practice session with some Batman posters, the Joker heads to his hideout and rallies his gang for a new caper. The next morning, Bruce Wayne has accompanied Vicki Vale to Gotham Central Station, which is to be demolished by explosives precisely placed by a special computer. But when the demolition procedure begins, nothing happens. The computer is discovered to be missing, with the Joker's calling card on the construction crew's monitor.

Some detective work by Alfred and the Batcomputer reveals that ten acres of land were recently purchased in New Jersey by one "Harlan Quinn". Batman heads to Jersey to investigate and is promptly and efficiently captured by the Joker. When he comes around, Batman is tied to a cliffside which the Joker has rigged with explosives. Using the demolition computer, he has placed the charges precisely to carve out an approximation of his face in the cliff in the vein of Mt. Rushmore. Joker heads to his control panel, but Batman frees himself from his bonds and activates a device to jam the computer signal. The Caped Crusader then confronts Joker and his men, and a fight breaks out. Joker shoots at Batman with his crossbow, but the bolt hits the jamming device in the Darknight Detective's utility belt.

With the jamming signal gone, the explosives go off, knocking Batman and the Joker into the sea. Joker's scheme is a success, as his face appears carved into the rock -- but it lasts only for a moment and then crumbles, with Batman speculating that his jammer fouled up the computer's timing, resulting in an unstable structure.

DETECTIVE COMICS #519

"...LIKE A DREADNOUGHT IN THE SKY!"
Plot Gerry Conway | Script: Paul Kupperberg
Pencils: Don Newton | Inks: John Calnan
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Batman is in Washington, D.C. on a top from the Navy, and watches from atop the Washington Monument as a zeppelin enters D.C. airspace, broadcasting a ransom demand from Colonel Blimp -- ten million dollars for the submarine and warship he has captured, along with their crews. Batman hitches a ride aboard the ship, but finds a detonation device inside. He exits quickly, just before the hydrogen-powered blimp explodes and crashes.

Later, at the Batcave, the Batcomputer has pinpointed the likely location of the captured Naval craft, in the arctic. Batman dispatches Robin in the Batplane to investigate, while Batman drives the Batmobile to New Jersey on a hunch. Sure enough, he finds Blimp's hangar in the woods and sneaks inside, where he learns that the Department of the Navy has agreed to Blimp's demand. Meanwhile, Robin arrives in the arctic and finds the captured ship and sub, landlocked on the ice. He asks the battleship's crew to get the guns in working order, and soon afterward, a zeppelin dispatched by Blimp arrives. Its crew disembarks and is captured by the sailors, while Robin boards the airship and contacts Blimp, telling him his scheme is blown.

Batman takes that cue to show himself. He knocks out Blimp's men and confronts the villain, who gets off a single shot before Batman knocks him out and takes him into custody.

BATMAN #352

"THE KILLER SKY!"
Plot Gerry Conway | Script: Paul Kupperberg
Artist: Don Newton | Inker: John Calnan
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Carl Gafford | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: In the North Atlantic Ocean, a zeppelin emerges from the fog and uses a tractor beam to steal a military submarine. The next night, Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale are in attendance at a party abaord a cruise ship when the same zeppelin appears and steals a nearby battleship. While Vicki takes photos of the incident, Bruce ducks away and changes to Batman. He snags the airship with a batline, but the vessel's commander, Colonel Blimp, dispatches his henchmen to deal with the Caped Crusader.

The men attack Batman and eventually knock him off their craft, but they're unaware that he has left a tracking devise lodged in the hull. Later, a battered Batman arrives at the Batcave and explains to Alfred and Dick that he fell through a canopy of trees, using the foliage to break his fall. Despite his injuries, Batman insists on following his tracker, and Robin insists on joining him. Soon, the Batmobile drives through the morning light in the New Jersey countryside, in search of Blimp's blimp. But the Dynamic Duo drive over a landmine, which detonates and totals the Batmobile. After escaping this deathtrap, Batman spots his tracking device attached to a nearby tree. Elsewhere, in a long-abandoned zeppelin hangar, Blimp addresses his men with a speech about having killed Batman and making the world pay for what it has done.

Continuity Notes: In the story's opening pages, Batman visits Jim Gordon's hospital room, where the former commissioner is recovering from the beating he received in last week's DETECTIVE COMICS #518. As Batman lurks outside the window, he sees Barbara Gordon and Jason Bard visit Gordon, followed by the arrival of Commissioner Pauling and Officer McClosky, the man who led the beating. Batman enters the room and scares off the corrupt cops, after which Gordon asks the Masked Manhunter for help in exposing Mayor Hill's corruption.

(On a side-note, I feel like Paul Kupperberg's script this issue could've used a bit more input from editor Dick Giordano. In the span of two pages and eleven panels, Batman thinks to himself, "What have they done to you, old friend?" then greets Gordon verbally with "How are you feeling, old friend?", followed two panels later by Gordon saying, "Jason and I've gone as far as we can on this, old friend..." I get it, Paul. They're old friends.)

DETECTIVE COMICS #518

"THE MILLIONIARE CONTRACT"
Writers Gerry Conway & Paul Levitz | Artists: Don Newton & Bruce Patterson
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: In the Batcave, Robin, Alfred, and Father Green watch over Batman as he recovers from his vampiric condition. Father Green soon leaves, bringing Dala and the Monk, imprisoned, with him. Alfred and Robin (after changing to Dick Grayson) head up to Wayne Manor, where Dick is startled to find Bruce Wayne enjoying a cocktail with Vicki Vale. Bruce and Vicki leave for a date at Gotham's Crystal Ballroom, and Alfred reveals to Dick that he hired the Human Target to impersonate Bruce Wayne in order to throw off Vicki's suspicion that Bruce is Batman. Elsewhere, Rupert Thorne dispatches Deadshot to kill Bruce Wayne, who he believes to be Batman thanks to photos stolen from Vicki.

In the Batcave, Batman takes a call from a prison official who informs him that Deadshot has escaped. Despite his weakened condition, Batman heads out in the Batmobile to find the villain. He interrogtates Deadshot's weapon manufacturer, Augustino Coppola, and soon catches up with Deadshot outside the Crystal Ballroom. Batman and Deadshot fight, their battle taking them into the ballroom, where "Bruce" and Vicki are dining. Vicki is shocked to see Bruce and Batman in the same place and decides she was wrong about the Caped Crusader's true identity. With some help from "Bruce", Batman defeats and apprehends Deadshot, and departs.

Continuity Notes: When Doctor Loom-- I mean, Father Green leaves with the Vampiri siblings, he drops some very cryptic comments which lead Robin and Alfred to speculate as to how he know so much about them. This is quite intruguing, but so far as I can tell, none of these characters would ever appear again.

BATMAN #351

"WHAT STALKS THE GOTHAM NIGHT?"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Tony DeZuniga
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Batman, now a vampire, watches from a rooftop as Dick Grayson escorts Vicki Vale back to her apartment building. Dick makes a pass at Vicki and surreptitiously tries to bite her neck, but freezes when he spots Batman's shadow above. Vicki angrily blows off Dick and goes into the building, then Batman swings down and knocks Dick out.

At Wayne Manor, Alfred speaks with Christopher Chance, the Human Target, then goes doesn to the Batcave when he realzies someone is there. In the cave, Alfred finds Batman strapping Dick to a gurney. Alfred calls Father Green, who soon arrives at Wayne Manor and is escorted to the Batcave by Alfred. Green tells Batman that the only thing that will save him and Dick is either a full blood transfusion or a formula created using the blood of the original vampire -- the Monk. Batman and Green leave in the Batmobile, returning to Dala's home. She tells them where to find her brother, and the duo then proceeds to an abandoned church. Batman goes inside, where he finds the Monk's and Dala's two prisoners tied to crosses, then the Monk appears and attacks.

Father Green goes into the church to help Batman, but is attacked by Dala. However Batman manages to overpower the Monk and then defeats Dala as well, and Father Green prepares to make the antidote.

DETECTIVE COMICS #517

"THE MONSTER IN THE MIRROR"
Writers Gerry Conway & Paul Levitz
Artists: Gene Colan & Tony DeZuniga
Letterer: Annette Kawecki | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Batman, now a vampire, returns to Wayne Manor, where he swats Alfred aside, apologizes, and descends into the Batcave. A moment later, Father Green arrives at the Manor's door and Alfred, confused, lets him in. Alfred places a call to Christopher Chance, the Human Target, then listens to Green's story: more than one hundred years ago, a New Orleans plantation owner named Louis Dubois abused his servants (formerly his slaves), until one night, those servants took revenge by summoning him out to the bayou at night and getting him bitten by a snake. Dubois' sister followed him out to the swamp, where the snake's bite turned him into a vampire, and Dubois then bit and turned his sister as well. Father Green reveals that Dubois is the Monk, and that Batman is now a vampire.

At the home of Dala and her brother, Vicki realizes that Bruce vanished during the party. But Dick Grayson arrives to escort her home, while Dala and the Monk observe from hiding. Elswehere, in Gotham City, Batman comes upon a hood named Marley about to rob a jewelry store. The Caped Crusader stops Marley by biting his neck and draining his blood, then he retreats to a rooftop as dawn breaks.

Continuity Notes: At Gotham City's WGBS News affiliate station, former Commissioner Gordon and his new partner, Jason Bard, visit reporter Olivia Ortega and procure from her the faked Batman photos that Arthur Reeves revealed during his campaign. Meanwhile, Rupert Thorne receives Vicki Vale's Batman photos from Vicki's editor, Morton. Agreeing with Vicki's assessment that Bruce Wayne must be Batman, Thorne prepares to take action.

BATMAN #350

"NIGHTMARE IN CRIMSON"
Writers: Gerry Conway & Paul Levitz | Artists: Gene Colan & Tony Dezuniga
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Robin awakens from a nightmare in a room at St. Jude's Hospital, where the preist, Father Green, has been watching over him. Elsewhere, Batman returns to Wayne Manor via the Batplane. After landing, he is greeted by Alfred and then Robin arrives. The Teen Wonder invites Bruce to join him for a party at Dala's house the next night, and Bruce agrees. Bruce brings Vicki Vale as his date, and he, Vicki, and Dick arrive at Dala's home that night for the outdoor gala. Dala immediately takes Dick into the house, and Bruce suspects something is amiss. He enters the house as well and finds traces of the couple Dala and her brother were holding prisoner. Bruce spots Dala and Dick outside, walking away from the party. He changes to Batman and follows, unaware that Father Green is nearby and spots him swooping throught the trees.

Batman makes his way deeper into the woods, where he is attacked by the Monk. The Monk overtakes him and bites his neck, then Batman fends off his assailant. But Dick and Dala sneak up on the Caped Crusader, and Dick knocks him out.

Continuity Notes: Surprisingly few this issue, as nearly the entire installment is dedicated to the Dala tales! But we do get a reference to DETECTIVE COMICS 516 and the Adacemy of Crime as Batman returns to Wayne Manor, followed by a scene where Vicki's editor, Morton Monroe, breaks into her desk and steals her Batman file. A page later, Vicik ruminates on her belief that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same. Then later, when Bruce sneaks off to search for Dick, Vicki goes looking for him.

DETECTIVE COMICS #516

"PART TWO: 'ACADEMY OF CRIME': FINAL EXAMS!"
Writers Gerry Conway & Paul Kupperberg
Artists: Don Newton & Frank Chiaramonte
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: At the Adacemy of Crime, the Headmaster's class practice gunning down Batman. After class is dismissed, "Matches" Malone heads into downtown Hollywood with two of his fellow students. When he spots a fight on a rooftop across the street, Matches ditches the men and changes into Batman. He intervenes in the fight, but when the victim of the attack departs while Batman is distracted, the Caped Crusader leaves since there is no one to press charges against the attacker.

The next morning on a Hollywood backlot, the Headmaster asks Matches to assume the identity of Batman for the day's lesson. Suddenly realizing that the previous night's action was staged and the Headmaster is on to him, Matches enters the designated changing trailer and slips out just before the Academy class opens fire and destroys the trailer. Finding the trailer empty, the Headmaster sends his pupils out into the backlot to find Batman. But the Dark Knight takes the criminals out one-by-one until only the Headmaster and one student, Miles, are left. Batman dispatches Miles and the Headmaster grabs his defeated student's flamethrower. But he fails to kill Batman, and the Caped Crusader captures him.

Continuity Notes: While Batman is in California, a lot transpires back in Gotham City! First up, Rupert Thorne meets with Picture News editor Morton Monroe and demands Vicki Vale's Batman photos. Monroe returns to his office and requests same from Vicki, who blows him off and goes to visit Alfred, giving him two weeks (down from the prior issue's three weeks) to concretely refute her theory.

BATMAN #349

"TITLE"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Alfredo Alcala
Letterer: Janice Chiang | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: In Hollywood, awaiting his appointment with the Headmaster, Batman returns from patrol and calls Wayne Manor -- but no one answers. And on the outskirts of Gotham, Robin is tied to a chair, gagged, as Dala speaks to him, then leaves the room. Robin knocks over a candle lamp to start a fire, and uses the flame to burn free of his bonds. But before he can escape, two monstrous beings -- Dala and a man called the Monk -- burst into the room. Robin flings the Monk out the window and smacks Dala aside, then retreats downstairs, where he finds a man and a woman bound, with fang-marks in their throats.

The Monk returns and attacks again, but Robin escapes when the monster catches fire. Robin flees out into the rainy night and is nearly hit by a car driven by a priest named Father Green. Green loads Robin into his car as Dala and Monk observe from their home. Later, at the hospital, Green asks the doctors to keep Robin's presence secret as he observes fang marks on the Teen Wonder's neck.

Continuity Notes: First off, I must discuss the weird placement DC gave this issue in TALES OF THE BATMAN: GERRY CONWAY vol. 3. In that book, this chapter comes after both installments of the "Academy of Crime" story -- something which, on a very cursory glance, might seem correct. "Academy of Crime" is a 2-parter, so one might think the two parts should run together, followed by this issue, which was published in between but probably didn't actually occur in between the two parts.

The only thing is, that's a totally wrong assumption! Part one of "Academy of Crime" doesn't end on a cliffhanger, per se -- it concludes mid-scene as Matches Malone meeting the Headmaster for the first time -- but the second part picks up a day or three later, with Matches reporting for his first class at the Academy. And, per this issue as described above, in between those chapters, Batman was cooling his heels, waiting to hear from the Headmaster, killing time by patrolling the Los Angeles area. Further, there's a sub-plot scene in this issue involving ex-Commissioner Gordon, and another scene with Gordon in part two of "Academy" which must occur after the one here.

DETECTIVE COMICS #515

Yes, we skipped DETECTIVE #514. It was a fill-in and is not reprinted in DC's TALES OF THE BATMAN: GERRY CONWAY volumes. However, as it was written by Len Wein, it does appear in TALES OF THE BATMAN: LEN WEIN -- so someday, I might take a look at it.

"THE ACADEMY OF CRIME PART 1: COLLEGE FOR KILLERS"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Frank Chiaramonte
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: A trio of criminals robs a bank, but are jumped by Batman as they attempt escape. One of the men fires up his flamethrower and burns Batman, which prompts the ire of the men's instructor, the Headmaster. The entire scuffle was a training exercise at the Headmaster's Academy of Crime, and the Headmaster is none too pleased with his pupils' overzealousness.

A week later in Gotham City, Batman stops two muggers on the waterfront. When one of them mentions the Academy of Crime, Batman questions him and learns the school's location in Hollywood. Batman returns to Wayne Manor and changes into "Matches" Malone, then departs for California. Some time later, Matches enters the Academy's waiting room, but spies two Gotham criminals with whom he had an altercation in the past as they leave the buidling. Matches changes to Batman and tries to follow the men to get rid of them, but they depart while he is changing into costume. Batman changes back to Matches and enters the Headmaster's office.

Continuity Notes: The Headmaster states that Mirage, defeated in DETECTIVE COMICS #511, is one of his protégés. Later, as Batman fights the two men on the waterfront, he says this is "the second time [I've] heard mention of "the Academy"," though no footnote is provided. I'm trying to figure out if this a reference by Conway to something said "behind the scenes", or if Mirage mentioned the Academy and I forgot about it.

BATMAN #348

Yes, we skipped BATMAN #347. It was a fill-in written by Roger Slifer and is
not reprinted in DC's TALES OF THE BATMAN: GERRY CONWAY volumes.

"SHADOW PLAY"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Alfred unpack in the original Batcave beneath Wayne Manor, under the secret observation of Man-Bat. When the doorbell rings, Alfred goes upstairs to answer it and finds an angry Francine Langstrom, with her daughter Rebecca, waiting. Francine raves that Bruce had promised to help find her husband, Kirk, but has not done so. When Bruce appears, Francine berates him and then passes out. After putting Francine to bed in the mansion, Bruce, Dick, and Alfred head down to the Batcave with a blindfolded Rebecca. Bruce changes to Batman, dons some infrared contact lenses, and takes Rebecca into the subterranean caverns in search of Man-Bat. But as soon as they depart, Man-Bat shows himself, swooping past Dick and Alfred to follow.

After some time searching, Batman decides to give up for the night. But as he and Rebecca are about to turn around, Man-Bat appears and attacks, knocking Batman down a cliff. The Caped Crusader climbs back up a few minutes later to find Man-Bat and Rebecca gone. Batman follows the sound of Rebecca's screams to find that Man-Bat has taken her to "his" Bat-cave; a cavern filled with bats. Man-Bat attacks Batman, but the hero appeals to his humanity by way of Rebecca. Suddenly, Kirk Langstrom's personality returns, and Batman overdoses him with the Man-Bat antidote. Soon after, Kirk is reunited with his wife and daughter in Wayne Manor.

DETECTIVE COMICS #513

"...IS BETTER THAN NONE!"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Frank Chiaramonte
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Batman has been missing for a week, and Robin and Alfred are concerned. Unknown to them, the Caped Crusader is prisoner of Two-Face, who has been flipping his coin every day, hoping it will let him execute Batman. But so far, the hero has been saved by each flip. After his daily coin toss, Two-Face assembles his gang and takes them out to raid the Duo Records office building, leaving his girlfriend Margo behind to watch Batman. Soon, Robin hears a police band call about the attack on the record company and arrives to stop it. As he fights Two-Face, the villain reveals that he has Batman prisoner. This sends Robin into a rage, and he takes out all of Two-Face's men.

But the villain escapes back to his halfway house hideout, where he flips his coin again. The scarred side comes up and Two-Face prepares to excute Batman, but the Masked Manhunter breaks a pipe in his cell, filling the chamber with steam. When Batman emerges from the haze, his face is half-scarred by the steam, like Two-Face. Two-Face flips out and releases Batman, who promptly knocks him out. Robin and the police arrive at the halfway house as Batman emerges. He removes the "scarring" from his face, explainng that he meleted a food service tray and used it to create a scarred appearance to trick Two-Face. With the criminals all rounded up, the Dynamic Duo head home.

BATMAN #346

"HALF A HERO..."
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Frank Chiaramonte
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Two-Face stages an escape from Arkham Asylum with the use of a hypnotic coin. Batman and Commissioner Gordon investigate the scene, then return to Gotham City. The next night, Bruce Wayne is out on a date with Vicki Vale when he realizes that Two-Face had applied for early parole at a halfway house. Bruce changes to Batman and investigates the house, where he makes his way through an army of goons and a few deathtraps, eventually coming face-to-faces with Two-Face. But when Batman tries to arrest the villain, he unmasks himself as a woman named Margo; Two-Face's girlfriend. Two-Face seals the duo behind glass and floods the room with nerve gas. Margo is unharmed thanks to special filters, but Batman passes out.

Continuity Notes: That's not all! The summary above is quite thin, because this issue is crawling with soap opera:

Batman gives Commissioner Gordon a ride back to Gotham, and during their drive, the commissioner comments that he may well accede to newly-elected Mayor Hill's demand for his resignation. After he gets home, Gordon finds his concerned daughter, Barbara, visiting and fixing dinner. In the issue's final scene, the following night, Gordon turns in his badge and gun to Hill -- and after he leaves, Rupert Thorne shows himself and introduces Hill to his new police commissioner, Mister Pauling.

DETECTIVE COMICS #512

"THE FATAL PRESCRIPTION OF DOCTOR DEATH!"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Dan Adkins
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Doctor Death reveals to Batman that everyone in Gotham was dosed with his dust, and that the city must pay him one billion dollars for the antitode. He then departs, leaving Batman and the unconscious Robin hanging by their wrists from the bridge. Later, Mayor Hill takes a call from Doctor Death and refuses to negotiate with him. At dawn, following three hours of hanging, Batman takes a desperate chance and manages to free both himself and Robin. He then spends the day at the overwhelmed Gotham General hospital by Robin's bedside and helping doctors in their search for an antidote. Elsewhere, a Gotham SWAT team reaches Relief Island, but finds Doctor Death is gone. Batman then heads to the estate of Death's alter ego, Doctor Karl Hellfern, and finds the doctor there. Death sprays Batman with a concentrated dose of his dust, then attempts escape, but Batman takes down his helicopter and captures the doctor.

Death himself is dosed with the dust, and Batman takes him to the hospital. The next morning, the city is sprayed with the antidote to Death's formula, saving the lives of everyone in Gotham.

Continuity Notes: Vicki Vale develops her photos from the party in the prior issue of BATMAN, and finds that Dala's image is curiously blurred beside a perfectly in-focus Dick Grayson.

BATMAN #345

"CALLING DOCTOR DEATH"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: In a location unknown, a stoolpigeon named Keswick is brought before a mystery man in a wheelchair. The man chastizes Keswick for attempting to betry him to the police, then sprays Keswick with some dust. Later, Batman arrives at the Gotham waterfront, where Commissioner Gordon presides over the recovery of Keswick's body. Batman requests the autopsy, and then departs to rejoin a party in progress downtown as Bruce Wayne. There, he notes several revelers engaged with a wheelchair-bound man named Doctor Karl Hellfern. Meanwhile, Dick Grayson exits the party with his date, Dala, and they spot a cloud of dust raining down on Gotham. Dick is struck on the hand by some of the dust. Later, Bruce joins Robin in the Batcave, where the Teen Wonder is analyzing the dust. The Batcomputer comes up with a prognosis of death for anyone sprinkled with it.

Elsewhere, Commissioner Gordon meets with Gotham's new mayor, Hamilton Hill. As Gordon expected, Hill demands Gordon's resignation and gives him twenty-four hours to comply before he will proceed with an impeachment effort. Later, Gordon meets with Batman and Robin, revealing that Keswick died of an extreme allergic reaction to the same dust which hit Robin and countless other Gothamites. The Dynamic Duo go in search of Keswick's killer, and are referred by a stoolpigeon to Gotham's long-abandoned Relief Island. The heroes take the Batboat to the island and are ambushed upon arrival by a group of martial artists. Robin, weakened by his reaction to the dust, is knocked out. And when Batman is distracted by his partner's defeat, he too is beaten. Batman awakens later, hanging with Robin from a bridge passing over the island. Below, Doctor Hellfern -- a.k.a. Doctor Death -- gloats over his prisoners.

Continuity Notes: Batman notes in the opening pages that Gordon is distracted, and chalks it up (correctly, as we see a couple pages later) to the commissioner's problems with Mayor Hill. A footnote informs readers that Hill was elected "Last month" in the prior issues of BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS.

DETECTIVE COMICS #511

"THE 'I' OF THE BEHOLDER"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Frank Chiaramonte
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Batman, Robin, and Alfred watch a news broadcast of newly-elected mayor Hamilton Hill's victory party. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, a masked man named Mirage uses an illusion-casting gem to rob the Raytona Raceway's box office. Vicki Vale, present to photograph the race, gets some pictures of Mirage's illusions before he escapes. But the next morning, she finds that the pictures show nothing but the raceway.

That night, Batman responds to the bat-signal, and Commissioner Gordon tells him about Mirage's recent crime spree. Word comes in that Mirage has been spotted on Long Island, and Batman leaves to find him. Meanwhile, Dick Grayson is already there as a spectator at a fashion event/jewelry show, and when Mirage appears, Dick changes to Robin -- but is quickly waylaid by Mirage's illusions. Batman arrives a moment later as is quickly defeated as well, allowing Mirage and his henchmen to escape.

Back in the Batcave, Batman devises an earpiece to counteract Mirage's illusions, then he and Robin canvas the city for the villain. Robin eventually returns to the Batcave empty-handed, but Batman finds Mirage robbing an armored car. He attacks and his earpiece works, until one of Mirage's men slugs him and breaks it. But Batman still overcomes Mirage's illusions and easily defeats him.

Continuity Notes: The above summary only accounts for about half this issue's content. There are also sub-plots galore! But before we get to them, there are a few footnotes: first, Batman recalls Arthuer Reeves' campaign was undone by the sham photos he tried to use to unmask Batman in BATMAN #344. That same issue is invoked a few pages later when Bruce recalls Vicki Vale showing up at the Wayne Buidling "day before last." Later, Dick recalls dropping out of Hudson University in DETECTIVE COMICS #495, and then notes that he spent six months with the Hill circus, with a note pointing to BATMAN issues 337 - 341 (specifically the backup stories). Again, still no mention made of the Teen Titans, which just feels really weird. A couple pages later, Bruce talks to Lucius Fox about "the mess Poison Ivy made of [the Wayne Foundation's] books," with yet another note pointing to BATMAN 344.

BATMAN #344

"MONSTER, MY SWEET!"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: At Dawn the day before Gotham's mayoral election, Batman arrives in the Batcave and discusses with Alfred Arthur Reeves' plan to expose his identity. Meanwhile, Poison Ivy meets with mob boss "Big Jack" Johnson and tells him that she's now in charge of his gang. Later that morning, Reeves announced that he will reveal Batman's identity at a press conference that night. And later still, Poison Ivy meets the Wayne Foundation board of directors at Gotham National Bank, and collects her check for the full sum of the Foundation's assets. Subsequently, Batman begins stalking Posion Ivy, appearing everywhere she goes throughout the afternoon until she returns to her hideout.

That night, Batman meets Commissioner Gordon at City Hall for Reeves' press conference. The city councilman reveals photos which appear to show that Batman is actually "Big Jack" Johnson. Meanwhile, Dick Grayson returns to the Wayne penthouse. Later, Batman arrives at Poison Ivy's rooftop greenhouse and smashes in, to find Ivy waiting for him. She reveals that she has mutated her valet, Ivor, into a plant-man, and orders the creature to kill Batman. Their fight carries them outside and Batman is injured during the battle. Meanwhile, ace TV reporter Olivia Ortega receives an envelope from a mystery source and opens it in shock. Back at the greenhouse, Robin arrives and takes out Poison Ivy, while Batman defeats Ivor. In the aftermath, Ivor reveals Ivy's plan to loot the Wayne Foundation, as Commissioner Gordon listens.

Later, the Dynamic Duo return to the Batcave in time to view a special news report with Alfred, in which Olivia Ortega reveals that Reeve's photos were doctored fakes, thus sealing the councilman's fate the night before the election.